Emergency Numbers

Batterer's Intervention Program

Behavior is learned, and batterers often lack the knowledge and skills necessary to understand and change their behavior. Our Batterers Intervention program equips participants, generally court-mandated as a result of a domestic violence offense, with the tools they need to stop abusive behavior.

The program, which began eight years ago with five participants, has grown steadily with significant increases over the past few years to make it the largest program of its kind in the city. Last year, an average of 90 men participated in weekly sessions at any given time. The size of our program is not the only thing that sets it apart. While most similar programs are short-term and educationally focused, our program is a minimum of 26 weeks and is designed to move beyond cognitive understanding to focus on behavior change.

Community collaborations, including relationships with law enforcement, judges, and probation and parole officers, continue to play an important role in the success of our efforts. With a coordinated community effort, we are better able to hold batterers accountable for their behavior and more effectively identify and dissuade destructive thought patterns which enable the batterer to feel justified in his abusive behavior.